The Never Ending War
by xXLink1987Xx
Summary: The beginning of the story of the never ending war.
1. Introduction

In Zora's Domain in the land of Hyrule, the king and queen receive a message from Princess Zelda, requesting their presence at a royal meeting about the events of the past few years. Link, the new king after marrying Princess Ruto, has been the target of many attacks, even after the war, was really needed at this meeting, after his role in saving the world from a very cold death. Ruto on the other hand, was his partner in battle, and still is to this very day. Whether it was killing the monster that poisoned the waters of Lake Hylia, or just moving mirrors in the light temple, they were a team, a completely unstoppable force. Nothing they fought against had ever won.

Their presence at this meeting was vital, especially because their plans always succeeded. Talk of another war was heard by a guard and was mysteriously killed a few days after he told Princess Zelda. This was no coincidence. The meeting was to be held in a place completely unknown to anyone that wasn't a part of the last attack. A legendary place called the Chamber of the Sages.

Link, being the king of the Zoras and the most likely to be attacked, was to swim with Ruto through Zora's River and Lake Hylia to Hyrule Castle Town from which he would be taken to the Temple of Time, heavily guarded. The Temple being the only place you could access the chamber from, was also guarded. That was the plan. Link and Ruto were also heavily armed, in case the enemy were to get through to them. Link having his armor, crafted from the finest materials and armed with the Master Sword, the most legendary weapon of all. Ruto also had on armor made of the same material as Link's but without a helmet for some strange reason.

Link and Ruto also had plans to help make the village where he grew up a much bigger city, but this came first.

"Link, the guards are ready at the end of the river, so we should probably get ready to go." said Ruto. She was about 6'5", normal for a male Zora about her age, but with all the training she had, it somehow made her taller.

"Alright, my armor is being stubborn, or it has been really long since I have worn it, because, well, I haven't had much use for it." said Link. He was average height for someone his age, being about 6'6" and not really being one for swimming there, but he did swim for some exercise unless he was training with Ruto. After much struggle, Link did manage to get everything on, considering the last time he wore it was about 4 years ago, and made his way to the main room of Zora's Domain. The sight was normal, all the Zoras going about their daily business, unaware of where their king and queen were going, in case any of them had turned, like some of them during the last war.

"You ready Link," asked Ruto, "because if not we can wait here."

"No, I'm ready, it's just the fact that we are…"

"No don't do it!" Ruto cut him off. "We are only going to check on the water filtration systems if anyone asks."

"Alright, fine. I never was good with keeping secrets, but the last time someone told Zihark where we were, you know what happened." Link was referring to the scar across his chest from when Zihark had cut him. Ruto didn't really like it when he brought it up, but he still did anyway.

"Watch where you step on that subject Link," Ruto said with a snarl "you know what happened and it scared the hell out of me." Ruto was there when it had happened and she got anyone she could to bring him to the infirmary at the domain. She knew very little about Hylian anatomy, but she did know that a deep enough cut in the chest could be fatal.

"Yes, I know. It's just even two years later, you still fuss over it and if I even as much as go out and swim for a little, you put a gallon of isopropyl alcohol all over me." Link knew sounding smart was a sure way to end up on the couch at night, but they were already late. They were supposed to be at Lake Hylia by now, but all the talking had delayed them.

"Alright, we are already late enough. Let's get going." said Ruto "But anymore talk about that scar on your chest and you are on the couch!"

Link laughed "Alright fine, let's go."


	2. The Meeting

The swim to Lake Hylia was quite easy. The current aided the long and tiring swim, but it was still about two miles.

"Hey Link?" Asked Ruto "Couldn't we take the pipes to Castle Town?"

"I think that they wouldn't let us out of their sight, and besides, I sent a mock group to the pipes about an hour before we left." Link answered. Link knew the pipes would be an easier path to take, considering they take you where you want to go by asking them very politely, but he knew that if the brushes were spinning and there wasn't someone trained to run the filtration system with them, there was no chance at all of them getting through.

"You did WHAT?" exclaimed Ruto, clearly angry at Link. "You know that those pipes are dangerous without a mechanic with them!"

"That is why I sent an entire group of mechanics to the pipes." Link said back, with a certain attitude that always seemed to calm Ruto down.

"Okay, but if they aren't waiting for us at the end of the river…"Ruto said extremely sarcastic "I am going to send YOU to find them."

"But remember our plans for tonight" Link fired back. Their plans were to head back to Ordon Village and check on it as they always did, but now they have to do it in secrecy. Link was almost killed the last time. That was another thing that Ruto hated for Link to bring up. He was walking along with Ruto on their normal route when they were ambushed and someone ran Link through, but had a very poor aim and Link was back up and walking again in about 5-6 weeks. That was the last time Ruto didn't walk to the village with at least a gallon of alcohol and enough pain reliever to make even a large gash to the neck and about five other places not hurt at all.

About twenty minutes late, they arrived at the Chamber of the Sages and the meeting began. Besides Link and Ruto, there were about 8 other people there including Princess Zelda, Darunia, leader of the Gorons of Death Mountain, and Saria the Sage of Forest.

Link called the meeting to order and began talking about the possibility of another war. "We probably do not know of this, but we need some more defenses in the path from Ordon Village to Hyrule Field. Ruto knows what happened, but getting run through with a twenty inch blade doesn't feel all that good." Ruto nudged him.

"That is not it. We have been attacked more than once by the leaders of this so called war and we believe them to be followers of Ganon." Ruto added.

Zelda perked up and said "I believe this to be clear evidence to add more guards to some of these areas, but everyone needs to be closely watched to make sure they are not the followers of Ganon as Ruto said."

"Remember that sometimes, we need to be outside, so I don't want to be kept somewhere with Ruto like last time unless the situation becomes too dangerous to be outside just for leisure." Link said "And with that, I say this meeting is over."

As the most powerful person at the table both in a government standpoint and physically, he could declare anything he wanted and everyone would have to go with it. Whether it be jumping outside in the snow completely naked during the winter or just adjourning a meeting, as king his word was final.

The swim back was much harder, considering they were swimming against the current, but they made it. All the salt in the water made Link's scars hurt more, so he took a nice warm shower, but afterward Ruto led him along a path that he had never seen before in the Domain, but after he saw what was behind the door at the end of the hallway, he was rather surprised.

"Ruto, come on. I know you've wanted to do this for a while now, but now is probably not the time. And besides, aren't you cooking tonight?" Link loved it when Ruto made dinner, mostly because Link couldn't cook worth a damn, but when he leaned in over her shoulder and started seeing how she cooked, he could actually make something edible.

"Link, I know you are waiting for this to happen, but when? I know I shouldn't rush everything, but…" She stopped when Link pulled her into a tender embrace. She couldn't resist but to give him a little peck on the cheek, but then they closed the door and they ran off to the kitchen across from their room. It had been designed just for them, but they only used it once every other day. Occasionally, Link took some cooking lessons from Ruto, but they were also pretty short. Not using the kitchen only meant that they were rushed, but after dinner, they laid down for a little and talked.

"Ruto, have you ever wondered how we could find out who is sending these attacks on us? It isn't like we can ask them and they'll tell us." Link asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we could follow them back and just spy on them from afar."

"Link, stop talking about all of the bad stuff happening around us. It makes me worry about what will happen to us or what happens if one of us dies. It scares me just saying it." Ruto explained. "Just do me a favor Link. Stay alive at all costs." They fell asleep, in an embrace seeming to last forever. For those few hours, they could not be separated.


	3. The Dream

The night before, though quite long in a normal perspective, was the shortest night Link ever slept through. Why, no clue, but he did know one thing, Zora's Domain was about to be under an attack.

He saw it in the dream he had last night. Everything collapsing under him, everyone running. What was attacking, he didn't know, but the triforce on the back of his left hand was glowing, and that meant Link was discovering his past incarnations stories.

Link awoke with a start, in prison for some reason he didn't know. Every part of him hurt. He wasn't even dressed in his usual dress of a normal tunic and boots. These were more like rags. Torn and covered in dried blood from the shackles that held him to the wall. Suddenly he heard a voice from down the hall.

"The kid's in here, right? Don't want to mess up more than I have to. This is already too hard to say once." Link heard the people talking, but had no idea what they were talking about.

"Alright kid, the guy who framed you was found guilty and you are free to go. We need your sword skills in the ranks." The guard had said with a clear tone of grief that Link couldn't understand.

Suddenly and without notice, Link spoke up and said "Well, I can't. My sword is in pieces and I've been chained to this wall so long I can barely walk, not considering running."

"Alright, we'll teach you how to walk again and your sword has been remade." The other guard pepped up. A few moments later, Link could actually feel his wrists, but only seconds later fell completely over, due to the lack of muscle that remained after four long years of being on the wall. He was escorted to the main hall and presented his tunic and sword.

"With these final words, I bless this sword, and the warrior who wields it in the name of the goddess Hylia." Everyone was then in an initiative to gather every knight in town at the castle.

Link walked out and onto the balcony above the crowd, still with a slight limp, and gave his speech.

"Knights of the Great Land of Hylia, It is with great honor for me to say that as long as I am alive, I shall protect this land, and all of the people that call it home. And remember, if you choose to wake the lion, then give him fangs!" With the last word, the crowd exploded in cheers. Nothing could be heard, except the scream of one of the people in the crowd about the giant bird coming directly at them.

Everyone began to attack it, but when it landed, none other than the goddess Hylia stepped off the bird and said "What has come to my kingdom? You mistake your goddess even for a demon. This is only me and my loftwing. If at all possible, we need to keep the Demon King from the triforce at any cost. If necessary, I can bring the land above the clouds and everyone will be safe."

That came true sooner than anyone would have liked.

Later on that evening, the Demon King entered the town and began an attack. Hylia decided that now was the time. "Link! Take this sword and defeat the Demon King! It is the only weapon strong enough to defeat him!"

Link took the Master Sword and proceeded to fight the Demon King. He eventually won, not after sustaining a heavy blow to the side of his chest and later with Hylia's instructions forced the sword into the ground. The land began to rise, but Link was too weak to move.

"Link! Get in the light! Come with us!" Every single person Link ever knew was calling him, but he could not move at all.

"You guys just go. As you go higher, my body grows weaker. I promise you all, I will be there for you." He saw the loftwing that Hylia came down on, but then felt much worse. He had not kept the promise he made. With his final breaths, he called out to the loftwing "And to you loftwing, I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to be a great partner of yours. I hope I am able to see you again sometime." Then, just as the loftwing disappeared, Hylia came down and called for Link and saw him lying against a pillar, completely limp. Not another word was heard from him, but Hylia cried out "I swear to you and me Link, when the land is in danger, we will be reborn." With that, she took Link's form and rose to the heavens, never to be seen again.

After the last seconds of his dream, back in the current time, Link woke up with a start. Never had those few moments felt the same. He now knew, he wasn't the true Link. His ancestor had apparently helped create a place known only by the historians of Hyrule. This place known as Skyloft.

Ruto saw Link about an hour before he woke up and she wondered why he was talking in his sleep and why the triforce on his hand was glowing. But some of these questions even Link himself couldn't answer.

"So Link, what was going on in this 'backstory' of yours?" Ruto asked curiously

"Well if you want to know," Link said with some disregard in his voice "I was dreaming about me. Apparently, I'm the reincarnation of my ancestor by the swear of Hylia. I remember being in another fight with a Demon King, but this time, we both lost. I killed him with the Master Sword, but he got me in the side of my chest and, well, I died."

Ruto was kind of surprised. "Wait, you mean to tell me that your ancestor helped create that place called 'Skyloft' that I read about in a book a few months ago?"

"Well, maybe. I remember seeing where it was the land separated, but now is probably not the time to go and look for a huge floating island in the sky. I do remember reading something about a mysterious stone that had some weird language on it and a date. It kind of looked like a gravestone to me." Link added.

"Great! A reason to be out and about! To find where your ancestor is!" Ruto exclaimed. "But first, you are making breakfast."

"Alright, fine. I'll see you after you get out of the shower." Link said very dully

Despite being terrible at cooking, breakfast was his better area when it came to making food. Everyone loved it when he made pancakes in bulk. That just so happened today as everyone gathered around as Link made the best chocolate chip pancakes anyone heard of. Ruto got out of the shower and was ready to go by the time Link finished the last pancake. Not bad for an amateur in the kitchen.

"Link, you ready to go?" Ruto asked.

"Yep, just got to get my boots and we'll be going." Link was always ready to go, so this surprised Ruto. But for the time, she could understand.

Later that morning, without anyone else knowing, they were off to find the very first link in the long chain of Link's family.


	4. The Grave

The journey was long, but the fields were looking much better. The grass was green, the farmers and ranchers were prosperous, but there was only one thing Link and Ruto were looking for, the gravestone of the very first Hero. Not only did the fields look better, but by the time they reached Castle Town to stay for the night, the town looked better than ever. They were not completely stupid, as they disguised themselves, as they didn't know who or when someone might come out to attack them. It wasn't that long until they reached the castle, and then went around the main gate, and to the guards who let them in, knowing who they were. They sent a message to Princess Zelda, letting her and the guards know that some 'travelers' were coming through and to let them in immediately. That was all they knew.

"So, the town looks better." Link commented during dinner "The last time I was here just to be here, everything was in ruins."

"The people wanted pretty much everything rebuilt, we gave them the supplies and they did a great job with everything." Zelda replied. Not usually up for conversation unless it was serious, this was kind of rare.

"I've also been out with Link looking for something." Ruto stated. "The reason we are staying here is because we are on a journey to find the gravestone of Link's ancestor."

At that, Zelda began thinking. She partially knew something about it, but the location has been unknown to anyone in the kingdom for centuries. Not only that, but it was said to be on the sky island of Skyloft. No one knew where that was either.

"I might have a map of the kingdom that would show you where it is, and if it is on the sky island of Skyloft, we might be able to help you out on your quest."

"Thank you for all the help Zelda, but the one thing is it said that my ancestor and Hylia would be reborn when the kingdom was in danger, so who would that be?" Link asked curiously. Knowing who Hylia was reborn as would help the quest quite a lot. "When I see you though, you remind me of Hylia from my dream."

"There are possibilities, but I remember from a dream I had a few months ago that I said something along the lines of what you are saying." Zelda spoke up. "It seemed to be someone that looked like you, Link."

"Wait a minute that means…" Ruto said anxiously "we found everyone whose ancestors were reborn as said, but Zelda, you have your diplomatic actions to carry out, so if you cannot come with us, can you possibly give us some directions to where we can find the grave?"

"Of course Ruto, but it has been a long day. You guys need some rest. The guards will take you to your room." Zelda yawned.

"Well, no sense arguing with that fact." Link stretched. "We have a lot of traveling tomorrow."

The day was going to be hard, as the weather was hotter than expected; the map Zelda gave them was showing there was at least a one-thousand foot increase in altitude, followed by a nice run in with northern Lake Hylia.

"Link, we could head back to the domain and swim from there." Ruto suggested

Link answered back "Knowing what time of year it is, the currents have probably switched directions. Remember last year about this time when we were checking the filtration systems again? The current was going against us, which means that the currents will switch at least once a year, and probably this time of year as well." Link was the one with the formal education. As the princess, Ruto only got some basic tutoring, but Link was in school almost every day until he was at least fifteen when he came to help on his uncle's ranch.

"Ok, but remember, if the currents switched, we are going to swim home." Ruto was getting kind of annoyed, so the next few miles were fairly quiet, at least until they reached Lake Hylia.

"The currents must have switched directions and gotten much stronger!" Ruto was used to swimming with a very light cross-current, but this was no easy feat. The current was at least 25 miles per hour, and that is hard to swim in, even for a Zora. Link, on the other hand compared it to walking in a strong wind.

"Well, that was a trip on its own. Wait, Ruto, what is that off in the distance? I put the binoculars in your bag." Link saw something, but he wasn't sure what yet.

"Link, that's the temple! There are only three symbols because the other three were brought up on Skyloft!" Ruto was excited. She would finally find out who this was about. They ran the rest of the way there, but in the heat, it wasn't the best idea. It was about 95 degrees, and they were glad they refilled their bottles at the lake. Now was the hard part, finding the grave.

"I'll look over here, you look over there." Link said. "It has to be around here somewhere." They found it quite quickly, as it was the only piece of marble there, because the temple was mainly granite. It was completely unreadable, due to the fact that this was ancient Hylian, but Link read it like a child's book.

 _Link_

 _May he be remembered as the Hero, for now, and forever._

 _February 21, A.D. 47-November 26, A.D. 68_

They paid their respects, and then decided to head home and write a letter to Princess Zelda about the possibility of a new holiday in honor of the very first Hero.

"So we finally know the facts, huh?" Link asked "We now know that the only reason that Hyrule exists now is that my ancestors were always fighting, no matter what. Fighting for justice, freedom, and even their own lives. This is pretty much what I've been fighting for my entire life. So I guess I really do deserve the honor of being called 'the True Descendant of the Hero'"


End file.
